Talk:Robert O'Neil Bristow

Black, Black American, or African American?
Although Wikipedia does not necessarily follow APA Style, the APA Publication Manual1 offers a useful perspective:

"'...some North American people of African ancestry prefer Black and others prefer African American; both terms currently are acceptable. On the other hand, Negro and Afro-American have become dated; therefore, usage of these terms generally is inappropriate.'"

APA Style specifies that the names of racial groups are proper nouns and therefore capitalized; and that the term African American should not be hyphenated. Again, we are not obligated to adhere to APA Style, it's simply one perspective to consider.

The Wikipedia article Black people is also instructive, particularly this paragraph in the United States section of the article:

"In 1988, the civil rights leader Jesse Jackson urged Americans to use instead the term 'African American' because it had a historical cultural base and was a construction similar to terms used by European descendants, such as German American, Italian American, etc. Since then, African American and black have often had parallel status. However, controversy continues over which if any of the two terms is more appropriate. Maulana Karenga argues that the term African-American is more appropriate because it accurately articulates their geographical and historical origin. Others have argued that 'black' is a better term because 'African' suggests foreignness, although Black Americans helped found the United States.[107] Still others believe that the term black is inaccurate because African Americans have a variety of skin tones.[108][109] Some surveys suggest that the majority of Black Americans have no preference for 'African American' or 'Black',[110] although they have a slight preference for 'black' in personal settings and 'African American' in more formal settings.[111]"

Footnote

1. American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Master's Thesis
I do not understand this sentence: "In his master's thesis, he found that people choose morally right versus morally wrong regardless of their personal choices to partake in illegal activities, such as prostitution, and this divergence between 'cash-register honesty' and 'emotional honesty' lay the groundwork for the characters and plots in his fiction." Also, the thesis should be referenced. The current citation is not specific to the thesis. -  Mark D Worthen PsyD  08:03, 2 January 2017 (UTC)